The Days Before
by Helenas-Sestra
Summary: "The feeling in her stomach as she flew through the air with nothing but sky for her feet to hang on to, was terrifying but also extremely liberating. If she closed her eyes, she almost felt free." What was childhood like for the Project Leda clones? A fic examining all of their 'formative' years.


**A/N: So basically this story was inspired by reading about the clones' pasts in the OB comics. The story will be rotating through the childhoods of each of the main clones (I'm still debating whether I want to do Rachel or not, what would you guys like?) with each chapter being about a different one of them. Then after everyone has their first chapter done, I'll loop back to Sarah and it will just keep going in a pattern. **

**WARNINGS: Ummm, not much for this chapter. There's an implied mention of past child abuse. **

**_Sarah Manning, Aged 8 ¾ _**

Sarah glared angrily at the pastel pink paint that covered the walls of her new room, as if the mere power of her displeasure could cause it to change colours.

Her suitcase lay unopened on the floor, having quickly kicked under the bed in an attempt to make space. Sarah had given up bothering to unpack years ago, it always ended up being a waste of time. Give her new guardian a chance to get tired of her, and before she knew it she'd be back in the orphanage for another month. Waiting for some other clueless person to come along and think that she was the sweet little girl that they were looking for.

She perched on the edge of the bed, rubbing her socked feet against the carpet, feeling the energy build up as she looked around the room for something to do. There was nothing but a simple desk with a lamp beside it and a teetering oak bookshelf with four or five lonely novels spread out over the shelves. She angrily flopped back onto the mattress. At least at the last place she'd had her own television.

Hearing voices echoing up the stairs she quietly got up and tiptoed over to listen. She'd had lots of practice learning how to move silently, staying invisible was survival rule number one. Her ears picked up the rough voice of her new guardian, 'Mrs. S' is what she'd told Sarah to call her. _Abbreviated, as if I was some baby who can't handle the full thing…_ thought Sarah.

She was too far away for Sarah to make out any words, but she guessed that she was talking to Felix. Apparently he was to be her new little brother. As if the nauseating wall colour and lack of television wasn't enough, Sarah was also forced to deal with some tag along four year old, who undoubtedly would tattle on every move she made.

Sarah spent the next half hour or so sitting quietly on her bed, bored out of her mind but too stubborn to go downstairs and be forced to socialize. As she lay upside down, letting her head and arms droop over the edge, Sarah's eyes flashed to a large window above the desk. Smiling, she rolled over and hopped off the bed, careful not to make any noise when she landed.

It took her a couple minutes to figure out how the latch worked, but when she finally slid the pane of glass back she was greeted with a cool breeze of fresh hair. She hesitated when she saw a thin screen screwed in place behind it. She'd had her miniature screw driver confiscated after she'd been caught trying to break into the ventilation system at the orphanage…

Running back over to the bed and diving down onto her stomach, Sarah quickly pulled out her old tattered suitcase. Its handles were coming loose and the front pocket was missing a zipper, but Sarah figured that its shabby appearance would at least help keep people from stealing it at the train stations. Digging through the mass of old clothes and her few trinkets, Sarah reached into the far corner and pulled out a balled up faded blue shirt. Shaking it out, a sleek black pocket knife fell into her outstretched hand. She was positive Ms. Ashton at the orphanage would murder her if she ever saw it, but something about just having the knife near her made Sarah feel safer.

Sarah carefully put back her bag to its spot resting half under the bed, before walking over and using the knife to messily cut down screen separating her from freedom. Rolling it up, she shoved it under the bed, extending her arm until her hand met the wall. She'd be long gone by the time anyone noticed it was missing.

Perching on the edge of the window sill, Sarah leaned forwards looking for the easiest way to make it to the ground. She was two stories up, so jumping wasn't an option. There was a rain gutter about five feet to her right, she'd have to crawl there with no hand holds. It was risky, but far from impossible. Besides, right then a broken leg seemed more inviting then spending another second in that room.

It was only about three seconds from the time she let go of the window until the time she was holding onto the gutter, but to Sarah it felt like she had just crossed the grand canyon. She smiled triumphantly to herself as she climbed nimbly down the gutter. Her fingers knew where to hold without Sarah even having to think, this was something she had done many times before.

The key to surviving in a new foster home was learning what kind of guardians you had. The best were the kind that just pretended you didn't exist. Sarah could live off of junk food she stole from the kitchen and watch cartoons into the late hours of the night. Sometimes she'd find ones so uncaring that she didn't even have to sneak out, they'd just sit quietly engrossed in whatever pointless thing they were doing as Sarah casually walked out the front door.

Then you had the couples who were positive you were going to be their perfect daughter. They probably had a fantasy that they were going to adopt her one day or something. Sarah's first week would be full of dull outings where they asked her way too many questions, before giving up and buying her an ice cream cone in an attempt to 'bond'. They were annoying, but eventually they always got the picture, and Sarah would end up with a week or two of comfortable solitude.

The only people who ever really gave her trouble where the ones who would get angry. Or drunk. Or both. But it had been a while since Sarah had been landed with someone like that, and those were memories she'd prefer not to dwell on.

The strange thing about Mrs. S was that Sarah couldn't seem to place her. She seemed invested enough in this whole raising a kid thing, she'd said she'd had Felix for something like three years, but the car ride back from the train station had been spent in silence. Everyone always had something to tell her, whether it was how excited they were to get to know her, or to go over the list of rules they expected her to follow, Sarah couldn't remember the last time she had just gotten to ride quietly. It was as if Mrs. S had sensed that she wasn't in the mood to chat, and had silently agreed to postpone the obligatory welcome speech until later.

Sarah decided it wasn't of any importance, she'd be gone soon enough so there was no point in wasting valuable free time thinking about her. Turning around to face the backyard and the gate that would lead her to the real world, Sarah took off at a run.

Before she realised what was happening, Sarah fell forwards head over heels landing hard in a pile of sand. Rolling over to see what she'd tripped on, she was met with a small whimpering ball topped with a mess of black hair. This must be Felix.

"Oi, will you stop your whining!" She whispered angrily, "You're gonna get me caught out."

Felix looked up, taking in this new girl with his large dark eyes. "You ruined my sand castle!" He said accusingly, pointing a small chubby finger at Sarah.

She did not want to deal with this right now. "Look, I'm- I'm sorry I broke your sand thing, but you need to keep it down."

His sobs quickly died out and Felix became more curious than angry. "Where are you going?" he whispered.

"Out." Was all Sarah replied, already starting up towards the gate again.

Felix hurried to get up and run after her, pulling on Sarah's hand to try and slow her down. "Out where?"

"None of your business."

"Can I come too?"

"No." Said Sarah trying to shake him off, "Jus' go back to your dirt pit."

Felix glared up at her. "I'm going to go tell mummy."

Sarah sighed, "Look, whatever. You can tag along if you want, just make sure you keep your mouth shut."

Felix skipped along happily, and let out a cry of delight before quickly covering his mouth with his hands. Putting a single finger on his mouth to make the 'shush' sign, he looked up and winking conspiratorially.

This earned him a half smile from Sarah as she nodded and brought her own finger up to her mouth.

When the pair made it outside, Sarah chose a direction at random and began walking down the road. They walked in silence for a couple blocks, the pounding of their footsteps the only sound on the quiet summer day. It was finally broken when Sarah turned to Felix and asked "Why'd you call her 'mummy'?"

He looked extremely confused and Sarah felt the strange urge to laugh. "What else would I call her?" he finally settled on.

"Well you know she's not your real mum, right?" Sarah replied.

"Maybe not originally, but she is now. She's going to be yours too!" Felix finished excitedly, as if Sarah should rejoice over her new found family.

Sarah felt that sounded quite wise, that is for a cry-baby four year old… And for a moment she was tempted to just believe in the fantasy world that Felix seemed so positive would come into existence. Mentally shaking herself back to reality, Sarah decided to just let the topic drop. No point in ruining the kid's false images of happiness.

Coming to a stop at an intersection, Sarah decided they'd better pick out a destination. Adults tended to notice you were missing after an hour so, and it had already been almost fifteen minutes. "So where do you go to hang out around here?" she asked Felix.

He stopped to think for a second. "We could go to the playground!" He said excitedly, "The school's just down there."

"The playground's for kids." Sarah said, dismissing the idea.

"But you are a kid."

Sarah sighed and mentally went over her usual stops. She wouldn't be able to nick anything from a convenient store with a four year old following her around, and they were in the middle of suburbia so she'd have trouble finding an abandoned lot. "Fine." she ended up muttering "But why you want to go to school on a Saturday…"

Felix smiled happily and grabbed her hand, leading Sarah down a winding path to the right.

"You sure you know where you're going?" Sarah asked.

"Of course." Felix stated, "Mummy and I walk there every morning. And she says now that you're here, me and you will be able to walk on our own!"

Sarah laughed. "I don't go to school."

"What do you mean?" Asked Felix, "Everyone has to go to school."

"Maybe in your world…" said Sarah. Felix looked confused, but didn't say anything more on the subject.

When they reached the end of the path, Sarah was met with a small clearing with an array of jungle gym equipment, and a large building made of dark brown brick. The shining metal letters attached to the wall read 'MOUNTDALE PUBLIC SCHOOL'.

"Looks posh." Said Sarah. "You sure we're not gonna get busted for going here? There's no cameras or anything, right?"

"No, you're allowed to play whenever you want." Felix said, running ahead of Sarah and practically throwing himself onto the swing.

"Will you push me?" he asked, looking up at Sarah with wide eyes.

"Make it go yourself." She replied, lazily sitting down on the swing next to him.

Felix pouted, but dutifully began to kick his legs forwards trying to make swing move.

Sarah watched the struggling toddler for a second before sighing, "Not like that you twat, here watch me." And slowly she began to pump, her swing rising higher and higher into the air. "Bend your legs, and then straighten them out when you go forwards."

Felix watched her for another minute, before beginning to mimic her actions. It took him a while to get the hang of it, but he eventually developed a steady rhythm.

Sarah couldn't remember the last time she'd played on a swing. The feeling in her stomach as she flew through the air, with nothing but sky for her feet to hang on to, was terrifying but also extremely liberating. If she closed her eyes, she almost felt free.

Twenty minutes passed, and Sarah figured their absence would be noticed soon. Waiting for the swing to reach the peak of its arc she let go of the handles, and for a few brief seconds she soared through the air, before landing roughly on her knees in the sand.

"Come on Fe, time to get back." She called over her shoulder, already heading back the way they had come.

Felix quickly caught up, smiling happily as he ran. "Sarah, can we sneak out again tomorrow?"

Sarah smirked. Mrs S. was going to love having her as Felix's new role model. "Let's see if we get caught today first, yah?"

Felix nodded seriously. Reaching over and grabbing Sarah's hand tightly he looked up and said, "I'm glad you're going to be my new sister."

Sarah was tempted to tell him that she was nobody's sister, but she held her tongue.

Maybe, just for today, she could pretend.

**So there's Sarah's first chapter. NEXT UP: Helena**


End file.
